Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) and Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) have created a free, searchable database of pending energy legislation in all 50 states. This growing information hub, called the Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker, aims to make available the more than 2,000 current bills in U.S. legislature that could influence the country's energy systems. Users can search by state, policy type, and/or keywords to find legislation.

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Founded in 2011, the CNEE describes itself as a privately-funded initiative to support the growth of a clean energy economy across the U.S. and is led by former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter. The AEE says it is a national business organization representing the entire advanced energy industry, from wind, hydro, solar, and natural gas to efficiency and electric vehicles.

Previously, information on energy legislation has been scattered across several resources, presenting a challenge for anyone wanting to track trends or make conclusions based on nationwide data. According to its website, the AEL Tracker "solves this challenge by collecting all advanced energy legislation into one database, assigning each bill to one of 10 policy categories and providing a searchable, visual database complete with trend analysis and reporting." Now anyone with broadband Internet can gather this information with a few keystrokes and the click of a mouse.

While announcing the tracker in April, the AEE reports that the tracker not only allows you to read information on each bill, but it also analyzes trends on energy legislation at the state level.

"With this nonpartisan tool, researchers, journalists, policymakers, and concerned citizens can follow and analyze advanced energy legislation, both individually and in aggregate. The unique tracker will increase awareness of advanced energy and the way state action can unleash its economic potential for the United States," AEE says.

According to its website, the CNEE's first trend analysis is on energy efficiency, entitled "Rediscovering the First Fuel." It expects to publish two or three trend analyses each month.

For a young organization, this revolutionary database is a big accomplishment, useful to not only professors and researchers, but to anyone curious or concerned about how these matters are being dealt with in our government. As the "green living" trend continues to grow, this database will help those who wish to be more aware of current issues, discussion, and matters at the government level.